Body

11/30/2020

I haven't spent much attention on the outside of Ginger. My goal right now is to get her up and running, the interior reassembled, and overall driving reliably. Her body looks good in photos, but up close is really showing it's age. I have no doubt in her 50 plus years, Ginger has been treated to a respray at least once.

There are some chips and scratches, old fiberglass repairs, and places that could use some love. She bears the scars of a long life, but I really think a good paint buffing and wax will make her more than acceptable as a car you could take to a local cruise or car meet. Her paint and body isn't show quality, but her curves still turn heads and age has not dimmed her beauty.

01/25/2021

I've gotten a lot of complements on how amazing Ginger looks in photos (which she does), so it's time to get some honest shots of the bad. It's really not terrible, but the repaint was a long time ago in a different age, so she is showing a bit of wear and tear. I haven't had her buffed and waxed, but some things won't be buffing out.

It looks to me like the hood hinges were stressing the fiberglass here, on both sides. A repair was attempted, but needs a bit more massaging to be good.

You can see the unpainted part of the repair here. I should be able to correct some of it.

You can see a scratch across the rear fender and door here. I think it will buff out.

The channel where the hood overlaps is a bit worn and weak here. My plan is to repair and paint the channel on both sides, since someone has already started the project by sanding the paint down and it looks kind of ugly.

There are a few small blemishes like this one in various places.

So that's about it! She's all there with just a bit of age showing, yet will look good on the road just as she is. Driving her will be amazing!

03/01/2021

I noticed some possible corrosion around the windshield and, after wrestling with the decision a bit, decided to remove the windshield and make sure all was well underneath. I really did want to replace the old windshield anyway, but wasn't sure I wanted to tackle another project area.

I'm really glad I did, because I discovered some holes in the window frame that needed patching. This will be an area the new owner should be happy has been addressed. It turns out that these C3 Corvettes are notorious for trapping moisture under the frame trim. Ginger is no exception! After treating the rust, I patched the holes with new metal before sanding and smoothing the frame with filler. I then sprayed primer on the treated metal before coating everything with three coats of good paint to protect it from moisture.

08/26/2021

So why is there a picture of the engine on the Body page? Because it's the engine's fault Ginger needs a new hood. With a little ingenuity, the previous intake and air cleaner fit under the stock hood with 1/2 inch to spare. Wonderful! But, sadly, that engine is gone, a victim of ignorance.

Out of something bad, something good happened! A new engine was born out of the ashes of the old, now with more power, reliability, and sound! All is not well, however. The new engine is taller and now the stock hood will not fit, short of carving a hole in it. How will this new problem be solved in a tasteful, period correct way? A Baldwin Motion Phase III hood, of course! If you aren't aware of the Baldwin Motion Corvettes, Google it. I'll wait.

2/11/2022

You know how they say that no strategy ever survives first contact with the enemy? No? Well, it goes along with the idea that you can have the best plan in the world, but there will always be something beyond your control or imagination that will put a kink in it. In this case it started with the ordering of Ginger's Baldwin Motion hood back in August of last year. With supply issues plaguing the world, my hood has been on backorder with no delivery date in sight. I've been patient. I understand the position some manufacturers find themselves in when they have all the ingredients they need to make the widget to fill their orders except one - and that one ingredient is shared by many, many products produced by many, many manufacturers. Oh, and that one ingredient is in short supply because of political and pandemic problems overseas, which results in a guy in a small shop in Minnesota pushing a project back into a corner for 6 months until one day a call to customer service to check on his order pushes him over the edge. He goes over to the corner where the stalled project hibernates, pulls the dusty cover off his 1969 Corvette and stands looking at it in silence, a thoughtful expression on his face.

I'm not proud to admit that I hung up on that unhelpful representative. I really wanted that hood. So, using my anger in a constructive manner, I cut a hole in Ginger's hood for the air cleaner to stick through. Pleased with the result, I once again took to the internet and then made a phone call to verify what I wanted was in stock. Assured it would ship out the next day, I hung up the phone and began my research. How to install a fiberglass.hood scoop...

Stick around and I'll tell you how it goes!

There is a reason the hole in her hood is off-center. The engine is off-center. About and inch and a half favoring the passenger side, to be close to exact. I don't know why, but it makes a wide hood scoop necessary to cover up the 14 inch air cleaner. I've got a sheet covering the engine, which is what you see poking through the hood, wrapping the air cleaner. I'm getting ready to sand. The.whole.car. Remember when I said that thing about not painting the car? Well, I changed my mind. I couldn't only paint the hood and stick it on. It would have looked funny, and Ginger would have been mortified. 200 hours later....

My amature paint job turned out pretty well! Ginger won't win an award at Pebble Beach, but looks great for cars and coffee events and every day cruising. Her old paint was pretty bad and inconsistent, so it is a great improvement! Again, don't expect perfection, just appreciate the shine. When the weather clears, I'll get some pictures in the sun. She is sitting pretty high on her suspension because I just got her off the lift and her newly installed components need more time to break in, She'll settle closer to the ground the more I driver her.

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